THE MATT FRIED HOUR Welcomes Young Downtown Talent To UNDER St. Marks Stage 6/24

In the comic tradition of Conan O'Brien and Stephen Colbert, Matt Fried and Chris O'Neil welcome to their stage downtown celebrities, performers, young comic talent, and indie musical guests that define the scene of downtown NYC. June's show will feature comic book illustrator Fred Chao (Johnny Hiro) and stand up comedian Mark Normand.

THE MATT FRIED HOUR is every third Wednesday of the month at UNDER St. Marks (94 St. Marks Place between 1st and Avenue A) at 9pm. Tickets ($5) are available for purchase at the door, one half hour before show time.

Matt Fried is a writer and comedian in New York City. In college, he was an inaugural member of the C.W. Post improv troupe. In the fall of 2006, he began studying longform improvisation at The Upright Citizens Brigade Theater in NYC. A year later, he continued his studies at The Peoples Improv Theater. He has also studied improv at iO (Improv Olympic) in Chicago, and holds a B.F.A. in Theater Arts from Long Island University - C.W. Post. Currently, he improvises in The Dream NYC at The PIT. Previously, he has improvised with Bad Luck Rising and The Best of... Fried & Mandeville. He is also a freelance writer and a regular contributor on Guidespot.com. Recently, he was tapped to be featured in the dating documentary, I Heart New York. He also maintains the blog, IamMattFried.com. He lives in Brooklyn.

Chris O'Neil is a comedian and filmmaker, who has been performing in the New York City area for almost a decade. He helped develop and appears on The Matt Fried Hour and is a member of the improvisational groups The Whites Of Their Eyes and Afternoon Playland. He hosts Improdome and New Team Lunacy at The Peoples Improv Theater. Chris is also an avid Mets fan.

Fred Chao is the author and illustrator of the comic book Johnny Hiro, which was nominated for an Eisner Award in 2008 for Best Comic Series and was recently featured at the 2009 MoCCA Art Festival in New York. Fred works in Brooklyn as a freelance artist and illustrator. For more about Fred, visit his website: www.fredchao.com

Mark Normand is a fast-emerging comic in New York City. Mark was nominated for an ECNY Award in 2008 for Best Emerging Comic. Mark is also one of the hosts for the comedy show We're All Friends Here at The Creek. For more about Mark and his upcoming performances, visit his myspace page: www.myspace.com/heresmarkk.

Horse Trade Theater Group is a self-sustaining theater development group; with a focus on new work, it has produced a massive quantity of stimulating downtown theater. Horse Trade's Resident Artist Program offers a home to a select group of Independent Theater artists, pooling together a great deal of talent and energy. It is also the home of FRIGID New York - the first and only festival of its kind in New York City.

www.horseTRADE.info